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Monday, 3 February 2014

Cook With Me #1 : Garlic Potato Bake

So I thought I'd do a bit of a different post than usual. I've been meaning to post some recipes on here for a while now, and now that I'm back in my own place and have free reign of the kitchen again I thought that there was no time like the present!

So yesterday (which is today really but this won't be going up until tomorrow ha ha!) I decided to make my Garlic Potato Bake. There's a bit of a story behind this recipe actually which is a bit too funny not to share!

So basically when I was 15, I did Home-economics in school for my Junior Cert and part of the course for Home-Ec was a cooking practical. This is the recipe I came up with for the exam. We practised it for weeks getting it the way we wanted so that it would be a breeze on exam day and we wouldn't have to even think about what we had to do. So that's what I did, I practised it in school and at home for months and it was perfect every time and everyone who ate it loved it so I was pretty confident and not worried at all for my exam.

Exam day came around and I was doing really well, everything was going great - until my pan caught on fire!! I'm talking massive flames here, not just little ones. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life! Thankfully no one was hurt and the only thing damaged was the pan and I had to start over again but thankfully - no more fires! And I still came out of the exam with an A! ha ha!

Ingredients

5-6 medium potatoes

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

3-4 slices of bacon (I use smoked but normal is fine too)

250ml Double Cream

Grated cheese (any is fine but a mix or red cheddar and mozzarella is what I use)

- Chop your onion and crush/grate the garlic and fry together in a pan for 2 mins.

- Add bacon into the onion and garlic and fry until cooked.

- Once your potatoes are done drain and leave too cool so you don't burn your fingers when slicing them!

- Once you have sliced your potatoes and your onion, garlic and bacon is ready, you can start layering them in a baking dish. I do a layer of potatoes on the bottom, then place half of the onion and bacon mixture on top. Then I add another layer of sliced potatoes followed by the rest of the mix on top.

- Next pour your double cream over the entire tray. Then Sprinkle some cheese over the top (or if like me you love cheese drown it in it!)

- Bake in an oven at 180 degrees for 30 mins. Check it after 30 mins by poking a knife into the potatoes to see if they're cooked through, if not cook for another 15 mins, you may need extra time depending on how thick you sliced them etc.

This Potato Bake is great just as a meal on it's own, with a nice salad on the side. Also it goes well with pretty much everything especially chicken! It also reheats well and is one of those things that tastes better the next day! It can be put together the night before or a few hours before you want to cook it too so it's great if you're going to be short of time!

My family have always loved this recipe and they always ask for it especially my sisters when they come over to visit and my dad always gets me to make it for family parties and I've never had anything but compliments from people who've tried it!

If you make this I hope you enjoy it, and let me know if you tweaked it in some way to make it better! Also let me know if you'd like to see more recipes on my blog! Always love to hear what you all think about what I'm posting!